Welcome to the NEW look Darts501 website

Many viewers will know I have written several very successful dart websites over the past fifteen years, each with their own spin on the sport. I have also written a few professional players websites that you may also have come across. My love of the game has never diminished and with over forty years of playing the game, I would like to share as much about darts the game, the sport, the history and the development of the game.

This website is new and fresh and I have learned on my experience as player, developer and designer to hopefully bring you a little more to the sport millions love and play every week.

This website contains information regarding the ‘01 game played by all plus the many UK regional dartboard differences of both past and present. Players nicknames, music, dart checkout charts and basic tournament charts are available for you to download and print for your personal use. There will be something on this website for everyone, even if it a quick look at the facts and myths that surround the sport.

As a player, I would rate myself as a good pub league player. I never ventured into major competition except for the first year of PDC UK Open, I won locally but was unable to attend regional knockouts. Today I tend to watch as a keen supporter of the sport and love to see people enjoying the sport, even if it is only over a friendly pint or two.

My thanks go to the major dart organisations, dart manufacturers, suppliers, the darts historian Dr Patrick Chaplin, darts legend Trina Gulliver MBE, Mark McGeeney and the many others that have helped me over the years to develop this website and many other dart websites. More details can be found on my acknowledgement page. See footer.

Darts501.com – UK Darts Knowledge at it’s best.

Latest Page Updates

PDC PREMIER LEAGUE DARTS : 7TH FEB - 23rd May 2019

Premier League Table and Match Results updated:14th March 2019

2019 Unibet Premier League Darts

The Unibet Premier League Darts starts 7th February 2019 with a new line-up of players. Raymond van Barneveld will be competing in his last Premier League as he has announced his retirement from the professional sport and will make his last appearance at the 2020 World Darts Championships.

Gary Anderson pulled out of the Premier League one week prior to the start, his place has been filled by nine contenders. See the Premier League Darts Table for more details.

For 16 weeks the Premier League Players will compete for a first prize £250,000 of a total prize fund of £855,000 and a bonus of £25,000 for topping the league at the end of round 15

Having won the Premier League for the past four years, Michael van Gerwen will line up as the favourite to retain the title.

Full details will be available on this website including a results table showing the players progress as each week passes. Watch live via Sky Sports

Premier League Format

The opening nine weeks will see the ten players face each other once before the bottom two players are eliminated on Judgement Night, with the remaining players then facing off once more before the top four progress to the Play-Offs in London on 17th May.

2019 Change: Due to Gary Anderson pulling out of this year’s event and his place being taken by nine ‘contenders’, this year only the bottom player from the regular league will be eliminated at this stage. The contenders will then take no further part.

2019 Premier League Players Line-up

PDC Order of Merit

PDC (Wild Cards)

Sky (Wild Cards)

Michael van Gerwen

Daryl Gurney

Mensur Suljović

Rob Cross

Michael Smith

Raymond van Barneveld

Peter Wright

Gerwyn Price

CONTENDER

James Wade

The premiership line is made up of the four highest ranked PDC players and six further wild card players selected by the PDC /

2019 PDC Premier League Darts Players Table

Round Six - Unibet Premier League Darts Table 2019

Cut

Pos

Player

P

W

D

L

+/-

Pts

Move

1

Michael van Gerwen

6

4

1

1

+12

9

2

Rob Cross

6

4

1

1

+12

9

3

James Wade

6

3

1

2

+7

7

4

Peter Wright

6

2

3

1

+3

7

5

Gerwyn Price

6

2

3

1

+2

7

6

Mensur Suljović

6

2

2

2

-1

6

7

Michael Smith

6

2

1

3

0

5

8

Daryl Gurney

6

2

1

3

-10

5

R

9

Raymond van Barneveld

6

0

2

4

-14

2

NA

10

CONTENDERS

6

0

3

3

-11

3

Movement from previous week.

R After week 9 the bottom two players are relegated from the league and the remaining eight players battle it out until week 15 when the top four will enter the play-off finals at the O2 Area in London.

NA 2019 Change: Due to Gary Anderson pulling out of this year’s event and his place being taken by nine ‘contenders’, this year only the bottom player from the regular league will be eliminated at this stage. The contenders will then take no further part.

RULES

All league fixtures will be the best of 12 legs of 501. Once a player reaches seven legs, they have won the game and no further legs will be played.

Two points will be awarded for a win, one point will be awarded for a six-all draw and no points will be awarded for a defeat.

The player named on the left in the fixture list will throws first in the opening leg of each match. This will be reversed in the second meeting (where applicable).

Should players be tied on points in the league table, leg difference will be the first deciding factor. If this is also a tie, then legs won against throw will be the next deciding factor, and any further tie would be split by a comparison of the relevant players' three-dart tournament average at that stage.

After week 9 the bottom two players are relegated from the league and the remaining eight players battle it out until week 15 when the top four will enter the play-off finals at the O2 Area in London

The player topping the league after week 15 will receive an additional £25,000 bonus

CONTENTERS LIST

Night

Venue

Player

W | D | L

Leg +/-

Results

Night One

Newcastle

Chris Dobey

D

0

6

-

6

Night Two

Glasgow

Glen Durrant (BDO 3x World Champion)

L

-4

3

-

7

Night Three

Dublin

Steve Lennon

L

-2

5

-

7

Night Four

Exeter

Luke Humphries

D

0

6

-

6

Night Five

Aberdeen

John Henderson

D

0

6

-

6

Night Six

Nottingham

Nathan Aspinall

L

-5

2

-

7

Night Seven

Berlin

Max Hopp

-

v

-

Night Eight

Rotterdam

Dimitri Van den Bergh

-

v

-

Night Nine

Rotterdam

Jeffrey de Zwaan

-

v

-

Premier League Winners

2018

Michael van Gerwen

beat

Michael Smith

11

-

4

2017

Michael van Gerwen

beat

Peter Wright

11

-

10

2016

Michael van Gerwen

beat

Phil Taylor

11

-

3

2015

Gary Anderson

beat

Michael van Gerwen

11

-

7

2014

Raymond van Barneveld

beat

Michael van Gerwen

10

-

6

2013

Michael van Gerwen

beat

Phil Taylor

10

-

8

2012

Phil Taylor

beat

Simon Whitlock

10

-

7

2011

Gary Anderson

beat

Adrian Lewis

10

-

4

2010

Phil Taylor

beat

James Wade

10

-

8

2009

James Wade

beat

Mervyn King

13

-

8

2008

Phil Taylor

beat

James Wade

16

-

8

2007

Phil Taylor

beat

Terry Jenkins

16

-

6

2006

Phil Taylor

beat

Roland Scholten

16

-

6

2005

Phil Taylor

beat

Colin Lloyd

16

-

4

The premier league final best of legs has changed over the years, 2005-2008 best of 31 legs, 2009 best of 25 legs, 2010-2014 best of 19 legs and 2015- Current best of 21 legs

2019 Unibet Premier League Darts Schedules & Match Results

Following the opening nine nights of fixtures, the player placed ninth on the Premier League table following Judgement Night in Rotterdam will be eliminated from the competition, with the remaining eight players battling it out from nights ten to 16 in the race for the Play-Offs at The O2.

Due to Gary Andersons withdrawal from the league, NINE CONTENDERS will take his place on the opening nigh nights. The new line-up is shown below

Schedule of Play

The player named first will throw first.

All league fixtures are best of 12 legs of 501. Once a player reaches seven legs, they have won the game and no further legs are played.

Night One - Thursday February 7

Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle

James Wade

7

-

4

Raymond van Barneveld

Gerwyn Price

7

-

4

Daryl Gurney

CHRIS DOBEY

6

-

6

Mensur Suljović

Michael van Gerwen

7

-

5

Michael Smith

Peter Wright

6

-

6

Rob Cross

Night Two - Thursday February 14

The SSE Hydro, Glasgow

Peter Wright

6

-

6

Michael Smith

Rob Cross

7

-

4

James Wade

Raymond van Barneveld

6

-

6

Gerwyn Price

Daryl Gurney

7

-

3

GLEN DURRANT

Mensur Suljović

3

-

7

Michael van Gerwen

Night Three - Thursday February 21

3Arena, Dublin

Gerwyn Price

6

-

6

James Wade

STEVE LENNON

5

-

7

Peter Wright

Michael van Gerwen

7

-

2

Rob Cross

Michael Smith

5

-

7

Daryl Gurney

Mensur Suljović

6

-

6

Raymond van Barneveld

Night Four - Thursday February 28

Westpoint Exeter

LUKE HUMPHRIES

6

-

6

Gerwyn Price

Daryl Gurney

1

-

7

Rob Cross

Mensur Suljović

7

-

4

Peter Wright

Michael van Gerwen

3

-

7

James Wade

Michael Smith

7

-

4

Raymond van Barneveld

Night Five - Thursday March 7

The BHGE Arena, Aberdeen

Michael Smith

3

-

7

Rob Cross

Daryl Gurney

0

-

7

James Wade

Mensur Suljović

3

-

7

Gerwyn Price

Raymond van Barneveld

3

-

7

Peter Wright

Michael van Gerwen

6

-

6

JOHN HENDERSON

Night Six - Thursday March 14

Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham

NATHAN ASPINALL

2

-

7

Michael Smith

James Wade

3

-

7

Mensur Suljović

Rob Cross

7

-

3

Raymond van Barneveld

Gerwyn Price

2

-

7

Michael van Gerwen

Peter Wright

6

-

6

Daryl Gurney

Night Seven - Thursday March 21

Mercedes-Benz Arena, Berlin

Gerwyn Price

-

v

-

Rob Cross

James Wade

-

v

-

Peter Wright

Michael van Gerwen

-

v

-

Daryl Gurney

Michael Smith

-

v

-

Mensur Suljović

MAX HOPP

-

v

-

Raymond van Barneveld

Night Eight - Wednesday March 27

Rotterdam Ahoy

Gerwyn Price

-

v

-

Michael Smith

James Wade

-

v

-

DEMITRI VAN DEN BERGH

Rob Cross

-

v

-

Mensur Suljović

Peter Wright

-

v

-

Michael van Gerwen

Raymond van Barneveld

-

v

-

Daryl Gurney

Judgement Night - Thursday March 28

Rotterdam Ahoy

Daryl Gurney

-

v

-

Mensur Suljović

Peter Wright

-

v

-

Gerwyn Price

Rob Cross

-

v

-

JEFFREY DE ZWAAN

Raymond van Barneveld

-

v

-

Michael van Gerwen

James Wade

-

v

-

Michael Smith

Fixtures for Nights Ten-16 will be confirmed following Judgement Night.

Some Old Favourites - Nicknames and Walk-on's

An increased amount of visitors have contacted me about
players walk-on music and nicknames. Some of you have kindly supplied me
with more information therefore I have updated both the players
nicknames and walk-on pages on this site. I
hope to add a few more in the near future but in the meantime if you know
anymore or if any player has since changed either their Nickname or walk-on
please let me know via my contact page.

The revised nickname and walk-on music pages now includes a number of WDDA players

I do realise there are loads missing of missing nicknames and walk-on, however, I add more to these lists all the time.

Professional Darts

Darts the Professional Sport

A Brief Introduction to Professional Darts

The game of darts is played and enjoyed by millions of people in UK pubs and clubs and by millions more across the World. The game has come from the humble roots of the tap and public rooms of the traditional English pub on to the international stage and is regularly televised to millions across the World.

In 1978 the first World Darts Championship was organised by the British Darts Organisation and sponsored by Embassy tobacco. The winner Leighton Rees from Wales received a trophy and a cheque for the sum of £3,000.

Prize money has since increased considerably in the game of darts, and the winner of a major competition can expect to pick up a very attractive amount of money. Take for example the 2019 PDC World Championship, a losing first round player receives £7,500 , the competition winner £500,000. One of the biggest contributors to the rise in prize money in such competitions has been as a result of increased lucrative sponsorship deals.

Since 1978 the game has grown into one of the best-loved and viewed sports on television. It has made many darters into household names here are just a few:

In March 2005 the 'game' of darts was recognized by 'Sports England' as a sporting activity which could pave the way to the sport featuring in future Olympic Games, however, I still feel we are a long way from that day.

Darts is one of the fastest growing sports in Holland, Germany, China and Asia. Over a third of the Dutch population watched Raymond Van Barneveld become the first Dutch player to take the world darts title in 1998; he has since won the title a further four times 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007 (PDC World Darts Championship). Raymond beat the reigning champion Phil Taylor 7 sets to 6 and a sudden death leg in the final set. The famous Bull up for the right to throw first will long be remembered as Phil hit an outer Bull Raymond asked for the dart to be left in the board as he used it to push his dart into the centre Bull. Since then the Bulling up procedure in the PDC events has changed. All darts are removed before the opponents throw. Raymond now equals Eric Bristow's achievement but still trails Phil Taylor's staggering sixteen world title victories.

The prize fund over the years has steadily increased, with players playing for £500,000 first prize in 2019 PDC World Darts Championships. This is a far cry from the first World Championships prize of £3,000. The sports prize money continues to grow making a few of the current player's millionaires.

In December 2007 PDC World Darts Championship moved to the Alexandra Palace. The Alexandra Palace is affectionately known as the 'Ally Pally' and was the stage set for the world renowned 'News of the World Individual Darts Tournaments'.

The New of the World Darts Tournament was probably one of the hardest dart events to win with a best of three legs format throughout the competition, including the final. Legendary dart player Bobby George managed to win this event twice and on one occasion Bobby didn’t lose a single leg throughout the tournament.

In 2001 the BDO introduced a Ladies World Darts Championship which was won by England’s Trina Gulliver MBE. Trina has won this event for seven consecutive years and made the final yet again in 2008 and 2009 but only to lose to a new up and coming star Anastasia Dobromyslova from Russia in 2008 and Francis Hoenselaar from Holland in 2009. In 2010 Trina again regained the title beating Rhian Edwards from Wales 2-0 she then repeated this feat in 2011 again beating Rhain Edwards by the same margin 2-0. In 2016 Trina won the World Darts title yet again making her the most successful ladies darts player in the World, a record-breaking Ten World Titles. Trina has been awarded the MBE for services to darts and charitable fundraising.

Anastasia moved to the PDC late 2008 and played in a preliminary qualifying round for the PDC World Darts Championship 2009. She lost to Dutchman Remco van Eijden 5 legs to 3. She also tried to qualify for the 2010 championship but failed. Anastasia moved back to the BDO late 2010 / early 2011 and in 2012 she won BDO / WDF Ladies Worlds Darts Championship for the second time and then again in 2013.

In 2007 the PDC introduced the first Youth World Championship. This event was won by Arron Monk who beat Michael van Gerwen 6 - 4 in the final. It wasn't until 2015 when the BDO followed suit and introduced its own Youth World Championship. It was sixteen-year-old Colin Roelofs from the Netherlands who became the first victor beating seventeen-year-old Harry Ward from England 3 - 0. Harry, unfortunately, didn't win a single leg in the final however I am sure we will be seeing a lot more from all of these youth players in the future.

Lisa Ashton from Lancashire, has since been a dominate in the ladies game, winning in 2014, 2015, 2017 and again in 2018.However, in 2019 Lisa was sensationally knocked out in the first round by the Japanese soft-tip star, Mikuru Suzuki. Mikuru went on to win the 2019 Lakeside title and followed this up by winning the Dutch Open the following month.

During the 2019 Lakeside World Championships calls for a major review of the ladies’ prize fund and short match format were called into question. The winning prize for women was just £12,000 compared to the men’s £100,000. The chairman of the BDO at the time said this would be addressed.

2019 also witnessed a number of the top BDO players move to the more lucrative PDC. With a £14M prize fund for 2019 and with the BDO restrictions taken off players flocked to win a PDC tour card.

Glen Durrant who had just won his third consecutive BDO World title, and former BDO No.1 Mark McGeeney, were among the thirty successful players to win tour cards. They were joined by a few others that featured the BDO World Championship event, thus depleting the BDO’s main contenders. This left the old ageing guard to re-established the once firm grip the BDO held in World Darts.

In 2019 John Lowe the former three-time World Darts Champion was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s honours list. John became the second male dart player to be awarded the MBE. The late Eric Bristow was the first recipient in 1989. The only other player to date to receive such an award is Trina Gulliver, the ladies ten-time World Darts Champion.

Dart fans may question the above because Phil Taylor was appointed an MBE in 2001. However, he didn’t receive the award medal as this was annulled because he was found guilty on an indecent assault. Taylor denied the charges but had to pay £2,000 as a result of his conviction.

In 2010 Russ Strobel submitted to the Darts Australia a new recommended dartboard height for Wheelchair users. The height Russ has come up with is 137cm to the centre Bull. The height was based on the perceived origins of the standard hanging height of the standard clock dartboard. It is said the average height of a man in the England UK was 5’8” around 1920’s, the height of the centre bullseye of a standard board. Modern adjustments make that 173cm. Russ has taken this analogy and worked out what the height would be should a man of 5’8” (173cm) be sitting in a wheelchair. His exact figure came out to be 136.5cm however as Russ explained the addition of 0.5cm would make the recommended wheelchair dartboard height easy to remember 137cm (wheelchair) - 173cm (Standard). The concept of the new height for Wheelchair uses was accepted by Darts Australia and in 2012 was also accepted by the World Darts Organisation. More about Disability Darts can be found on this website.

On this site, you will find a brief history of this intriguing sport along with all the information you will need to set up the dart board and organise darting events. You can also learn how boards are made using sisal (a material used in rope making) and how dart weights, lengths, shafts and flights can alter the flight of the dart.

The site also features traditional games played on today’s standard dartboards and UK city dartboards; The Yorkshire and the Manchester log-end to name just two. You can download rules and many games from here as well as those all-important checkouts.

You will also find Practice routines to improve your accuracy and scoring consistency as well as information about maintaining your dartboard and darts. There are also many dart related links to professional dart organisations, manufacturers, suppliers, professional dart players and other UK local dart leagues. My thanks go to them for their help and support in building this site.

I hope you enjoy the site your feedback is always welcome and if you like the site please inform others.

Darts501 was established in 2004 and from its humble beginnings and a few makeovers the website has had over well in excess of 11 Million viewers and the increasing trend continues. In 2018 the website attracted a conservative 1.6 million, however, with more people opting not to have their visit to this website recorded this figure is vastly undervalued. Thanks to all that visit and keep calling back to see regular updates.

About Us

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As the name may suggest Darts501 is about the main darts game 501. 501, is the standard game played today, however, this hasn’t always been the case. 301 double start double finish was the game of choice played in UK pubs for many years. Today, however, in most major darts matches with exception of one, a player is only required to finish on a double not start on one.

Set-up

Checkout

Nicknames

Walk-on

Darts501 is a darts information, news and resource website. Darts501 fully supports and recognises the Professional and World Darts Corporations, Federations, Organisations, Associations, Disability Darts and Darts Manufacturers. Some of these organisations are listed above. Please enjoy the website.